Learning Conservation and Sustainable Development: An Interdisciplinary Approach John Schelhas* and James P. Lassoie ABSTRACT and diverse ecotone, spawning theoretical and empirical work that addresses both the conflicts and compatibilities between Conservation and sustainable development (CSD) represent conservation and sustainable development. At an academic one of the most important new ways of thinking in natural re- source management and policy. Cornell University has developed level, this is bringing about changes. Conservation and sus- an interdisciplinary graduate minor to include this approach in tainable development (CSD) issues cut across many of the tra- its curriculum. The concept of CSD involves working toward en- ditional disciplinary boundaries, including ecology, agricul- vironmental, social, and economic goals simultaneously. Al- tural sciences, and the social sciences, and also require com- though sustainability is sometimes criticized as a vague concept, bining academic approaches with collaborative processes of CSD can be operationalized by developing indicators for differ- governance and decision-making. ent goals through collaborative processes, and seeking positive This paper describes the philosophy, organization, and in- sum solutions that, while not fully solving problems of sustain- structional methods of the two core courses in Cornell Uni- ability, make concrete advances across these indicators. The versity’s Graduate Minor in Conservation and Sustainable graduate minor at Cornell University provides students with Development, “Critical Issues in Conservation and Sustain- CSD concepts and skills through: (i) a core course, “Critical Is- able Development” and the “Field Practicum in Conservation sues in Conservation and Sustainable Development,” which em- and Sustainable Development.” We begin by reviewing other phasizes the conceptual underpinnings of CSD and experience efforts to develop interdisciplinary instruction in conservation working in interdisciplinary groups to apply these concepts to and sustainability, and then describe the vision of sustainability case studies; (ii) a “Field Practicum in Conservation and Sus- that underlies Cornell’s Graduate minor. We then provide a de- tainable Development,” which provides an interdisciplinary, scription of the Cornell program, along with details on the team problem-solving experience in Latin America; and (iii) course offerings, to assist faculty at other universities in their elective courses that provide students with interdisciplinary efforts to develop similar courses or programs of study. We breadth, rather than the depth fostered by traditional minors. end by discussing some of the difficulties and benefits of the Students have found that the CSD minor helps them situate program. their research in the context of practical environmental man- agement and policy problems, and provides them with skills to manage complex relationships with practitioners and local com- CHALLENGES IN INTERDISCIPLINARY munities during research. APPROACHES Recent academic study of human–environment relation- ships is characterized by interdisciplinary approaches. Al- UMAN SOCIETY is increasingly facing a variety of complex, though the disciplinary structure of the academy itself has re- Hintertwined environmental conservation and social is- mained intact, there has been an increase in problem-oriented sues. Biodiversity conservation, watershed management, and collaborations among disciplines and an emerging field of en- rural development are all being carried out at larger spatial vironmental studies representing the overlap or common scales that bring to the forefront the complex linkages between ground between different disciplinary approaches (Benton people and the environment. In biodiversity conservation, for and Redclift, 1994). Environmental issues can be placed at dif- example, conservationists have recognized the limitations of ferent points of convergence between disciplines and an evolv- reserves and protected areas and are reaching outward from ing field of environmental studies (Benton and Redclift, 1994). these to include larger landscapes, ecoregions, and agroe- For example, biodiversity conservation could be placed at the cosystems (Baydack et al., 1999; Collins and Qualset, 1998; interface between ecology and several social sciences (e.g., Dinerstein, 1995; Soulé and Terborgh, 1999). At the same economics, sociology, and political science), and global warm- time, those interested in sustainable development, recogniz- ing at the interface between biogeochemistry, atmospheric sci- ing that development that degrades the natural resource base ences, and the social and behavioral sciences. will be short-lived, are promoting biodiversity-related con- A number of interdisciplinary research and education meth- servation to meet human livelihood and development needs ods in conservation and sustainable development have been (Brandon, 1998; Western and Wright, 1994). Thus, we find reported in the literature. Touval and Dietz (1994) report on conservation and development efforts increasingly overlap- an interdisciplinary graduate program at the University of ping and laying claim to the same physical and institutional Maryland that brings together biology, economics, and policy territories. This growing interface is proving to be a fruitful to emphasize training in practical conservation management skills. Jacobson et al. (1992) and Jacobson (1995) review J. Schelhas, USDA Forest Service, 112 Campbell Hall, Tuskegee Univ., U.S. graduate programs that integrate conservation and sus- Tuskegee, AL 36088; and J.P. Lassoie, Dep. of Natural Resources, Cornell tainable development. Uhl et al. (1997) describe an interdis- Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853. Received 14 Aug. 2000. *Corresponding author ciplinary approach to research on forest management prac- ([email protected]). Published in J. Nat. Resour. Life Sci. Educ. 30:111–119 (2001). Abbreviations: CSD, conservation and sustainable development; NGO, http://www.JNRLSE.org nongovernmental organization. J. Nat. Resour. Life Sci. Educ., Vol. 30, 2001 • 111 tices, policies, and regulations in the Amazon. A notable trend sprung up in rural and urban communities worldwide. While in all these approaches is that problem-oriented interdiscipli- some find the vagueness of the term sustainability problem- nary research requires collaboration—both among scientific atic, the ambiguity, multivocality, and condensation of mean- disciplines and stakeholders—in environmental problems. ing in the term sustainability are themselves characteristic of Zube (1982) emphasizes the need for communication among powerful symbols (Kertzer, 1988) and are central to the term’s diverse groups: between and among natural scientists; among power and prominence.1 As such, sustainability can be seen scientists, planners, and decision-makers; and local people. as embodying and symbolizing the interconnectedness among Getz et al. (1999) and Uphoff (1996) provide examples of pro- people and nature, and the importance of pluralistic, inter- grams that promote linkages between local people, managers, disciplinary, and participatory ways of resolving environ- and scientists. mental and development problems. A number of authors have described the challenges asso- Yet, to endure, sustainability must be more than a power- ciated with interdisciplinary approaches to environmental is- ful term or symbol in social and political discourse. Opera- sues. The definition and interpretation of environmental prob- tionalizing and applying the concept of sustainability requires lems are themselves value-driven, and may differ among dis- some common understandings and tools. Sustainability is ciplines (Redclift, 1987). Disciplinary language often pre- commonly defined as seeking to optimize a variety of di- sents a fundamental problem, deeper than merely under- verse goals across the biological and resource system, the eco- standing terms and jargon. Wear (1999, p. 302) suggests that nomic system, and the social system (Barbier, 1987), both each discipline has its own constitutive metaphors that crys- within and across generations (Dixon and Fallon, 1989). What talize the underlying theoretical grounding of that discipline, these exact goals are, however, has been the subject of con- but are often only accessible and understood to the properly siderable debate. What follows is the general approach that initiated. Zube (1982) notes the inadequacy of our conceptual guides the CSD courses at Cornell, which can be modified as frameworks for dynamically linking the social and natural sci- appropriate to suit other purposes. ences, and suggests that progress can best be made through At least six dimensions of sustainability can be identified “learning by doing.” Interdisciplinary approaches are often un- in the literature: (i) avoiding land degradation; (ii) conserv- dervalued in academia, but highly valued in applied work. As ing biological diversity, including species and ecosystems; (iii) more and more graduate students go into applied work, and maintaining ecological services, including watersheds, estu- academics have increasing opportunities to focus their work aries, and the global atmosphere; (iv) socio-economic sus- on CSD problems, the development of academic programs that tainability, or sustaining and improving human livelihoods; (v) provide these interdisciplinary experiences is important. the wise use of agrochemicals and fossil fuel inputs to avoid human health